Helium.com Adds 'Debate' Function

Online forum Helium.com last week launched a debate section intended to engage Internet users in constructive dialogue on political issues in advance of the 2008 presidential election. Helium.com, which launched in October 2006, allows any user to post original content...

Online forum Helium.com last week launched a debate section intended to engage Internet users in constructive dialogue on political issues in advance of the 2008 presidential election.

Helium.com, which launched in October 2006, allows any user to post original content on topics from gardening tips and recipes to religious and economic theory. Those same users are periodically asked to rank user submissions, though usually not on topics about which they have written. The intent is to avoid self-serving posts and submissions that devolve into off-topic flame wars, said Mark Ranalli, CEO and president of Helium.com.

This system moves the "best point of view, the best argument, to the top of that list, systematically dismissing those blog-post concepts; the insults, the one liners," Ranalli said. "The best writers are recognized, others are dropped."

"We are looking for meaningful articles on virtually any subject you want to write about," he said.

With the election on the horizon "we expect our political season will be heavily dominated by debate-type issues," Ranalli said. "Now we're [looking] to these more subjective issues."

The Helium.com homepage now features a section that asks users questions about the use of biometric tracking devices for illegal immigrants, taxes and a country's economic health and a Major League Baseball salary cap. Registered users can rank existing submissions or submit their own articles.

Helium.com has drawn comparisons to Digg.com, another site that relies on user submissions and ratings.

Digg, however, is "fundamentally flawed because it is based on popularity," Ranalli said.
"If I ask a thousand friends to Digg my article, I go to the top of Digg." Helium.com is creating "unique content" whereas Digg relies on "content that already exists," he said.

Helium.com currently has 100,000 registered users -- 30,000 of whom contribute regularly to the site's library of 300,000 submitted articles, according to a Helium spokesperson.